Travel of a Wizard
by princessofwarriors
Summary: In almost every situation Harry tended to look for the hook behind the bait. So he works behind the scenes to grow strong. Eventually he realizes that England doesen't hold all the answers he needs so he seeks out old alliances elsewhere.
1. Chapter 1

Original

World of Wizarding

Prologue

Harry had never been stupid or for that matter particularly naive, life with the deadly dull but dangerous Dursleys had seen to that. In almost every situation Harry tended to look for the hook behind the bait. Even well intentioned people could cause personal harm if you didn't watch out. That was what Dumbledore was, Harry was fairly sure. Maybe he had gotten to the point where everyone was so much younger than him that he thought everyone else was a baby or maybe he just felt he needed to keep everyone in the dark so nothing could slip or it could be any one of a million other reasons. Good intentions probably, bad results; for Dumbledore anyway.

Chapter one

He was a skinny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who had that unmistakable look of a skinny boy who is about to grow. A sort of stretched out and almost pinched look. He sat next to his lumpy mattress leaning back against it, lost deep in thought.

From scraps of information gathered at the Dursley household he'd known that there were some kinds of secrets revolving around him. Hagrid informing him of being a wizard, the deaths of his parents, the vanquishing of Voldemort and his subsequent fame was almost a relief. At least he now knew what the secrets were. He hated an unsolvable mystery. When Harry had first entered the Wizarding World he'd been shocked at being mobbed by all of the patrons at the Leaky Cauldron because he'd assumed that Hagrid had been chosen as his guide at least in part to prevent such a thing. It was the only reason he could think of to send the gamekeeper instead of some sort of teacher. He quickly became disgusted at how the teachers at Hogwarts allowed him to be treated. Instead of insisting on some decorum and allowing him to be treated normally and have some privacy they participated in the gawking and whispers that followed him like some sort of noxious mist all through his first year; and then never really stopped. That's when he decided that since nobody else would protect him he would have to take steps himself.

Harry had found out that as the last heir to an Ancient and Noble house so very many ministry restrictions were waived. He could make portkey' without ministry restriction; he could sit on the Wizengamot at nineteen instead of thirty. He was allowed two concubine wives and a legal mistress in addition to his "rightfully legal Lady wife," which had admittedly freaked him out at twelve. He wouldn't have gone searching for a book to help him in his first year to understand goblins and asked his teller for one thus coming to the attention of the Goblin Nation that first summer. He had received a total of twenty encyclopedia size books dealing with their complicated society and history. Harry had no doubt that he was the first official Goblin-friend in several generations.

If Dumbledore had told him about the Triwizarding Tournament himself, Harry wouldn't have gone looking for answers himself and found out that the Triwizarding Tournament magically granted any underage participants emancipation and all Wizarding adult rights upon selection. The goblet of fire was an ancient artifact that cared little to nothing for age or social standing so in order for Tournament to be legal all the participants were deemed adults as soon as they participated in the first task. As winner of the tournament he was officially a knight of the magical realm as well.

He wouldn't have learned about all the Owls not offered by Hogwarts and started to study for them in first year. He would definitely not have gotten the paperwork filed for an identity in the muggle world and homeschooling paperwork to be completed yearly since second year with a verified medical excuse for the reason (a rare form of skin disease, harmless but disfiguring).

If a man revered by the Wizarding world was going to lie by omission about most events taking place in his life and wouldn't protect him from the lies' of others Harry figured having a backup plan was a smart move. So the summer before third year while in Diagon Ally he visited Ye Oldie Travel Shoppe and purchased a Safari Tent and an Emergency Lockdown Trunk Unit; it made studying for his non-magical schooling so much more secure and easy as well. The Safari Tent was disguised as a bracelet and the trunk as a ring and both put under a notice-me-not charm.

When no family information was provided besides some pretty pictures and an oft repeated phrase of "you look just like your Father but you have your Mothers eyes;" Harry snuck out of the Weasleys house to Gringotts that first summer and retrieved the Potter family journals from the main vault. Second year taught him that most Wizards will believe an attractive lie over an ugly truth in most situations. Third year was a crash course in Wizarding politics and its' overwhelming corruption and incompetence. By fourth year the Daily Prophets yellow journalism just confirmed that the Wizarding world was full of sheeple and liars.

Like always he would have to protect himself. Sirius wouldn't be able to help because he was still on the run and frankly no matter how much Harry loved the man; Sirius was an emotionally retarded mess with impulse issues. Harry hoped that was caused by Azkaban because of the many similarities between the boys in his dorm and Sirius. He seemed stuck as a teenager. Harry figured that being forced to relive his teenage life for thirteen years with no chance to go anyplace else or do anything but relive the past had stuck Sirius brain in teenager mode despite his real age. He wished he could find a magical therapist but so far neither Dobby nor the Goblins seemed to be able to find something like that for him; at least not in England.

Outside of England looked far more promising according to the Goblins. Finding a therapist who was at least aware of the Magical world was almost a sure bet in most of the rest of Europe because they preferred secrecy charms to Oblivation. Magical European societies outside of England while still hidden had far better communication and cooperation with what they called their non-magical brethren. Harry privately loathed several of the magical-society's terms; muggle, squib and so forth seemed so derogatory. Several parts of Asia didn't even really hide although they were somewhat separated. When Dobby returned with Claymore, Harrys bank manager and Goblin contact was everyone going to have a surprise come fifth year. He was leaving and had found a way to power the wards and fool any minders.

Harry turned his head around to look at the trunk on the bed. He'd just returned from Hogwarts so there wasn't much to be packed it was now more a matter of sorting things out. He closed his green eyes again and thought back to how his life had been before he knew he was a wizard.


	2. Chapter 2

First year:

_**Scene: **_ From scraps of information gathered at the Dursley household he'd known that there were some kinds of secrets revolving around him.

"Pet, what if he's not like them. What if we're jumping at shadows and he's not a freak Petunia? What if he really is a normal human?" Vernon Dursley whispered to his furious wife nervously. "We can't keep him out of sight of the neighbors forever; he'll need schooling soon and such like."

"I don't think you understand Vernon, the letter that Head-freak sent us said that they expect that he will be a very powerful freak and that's part of why he's here. I'll explain it to you later Vernon. Our only hope is to stomp it out of him and we can't even go as far as I'd like because they are all around us and might be able to tell if we are too successful too fast." Petunia whirled around the kitchen banging cupboard open and closed. "Did I tell you about that freak that bowed to him while in London not too long ago? I won't let him go the same way as my abomination of a sister!"

The talk shifted to getting Dudley and "the Boy" enrolled in school and what to tell everyone so they would understand that "the Boy" was an undesirable in the making; "just like his freak parents, Vernon."

Inside the hallway cupboard "the Boy," aka Harry Potter carefully used the piece of pencil lead to finish writing the gist of his relatives' conversation down. He folded up the scrap of paper he had scrounged from the trash and placed it in the old cardboard biscuit box along with all the other secrets and things he'd overheard from the Dursleys' over the years. It wasn't like he could ask 'them' questions! Don't ask questions' was the first rule for living with the Dursleys. He carefully removed the grating of the air vent and set it against the door, taking great care to be silent and keep an ear out for anyone coming near the door. He pushed the box into the air duct and then replaced the grate silently. He placed the pencil lead in a knothole almost hidden by his cot and finally relaxed. At this rate he'd learn what kind of secrets the Dursleys were talking about soon. Hopefully they would forgo caution and start using names soon. If they didn't he was prepared to wait. Yes, Harry thought; staring up at the spiders building webs, I have practice with patience.

_**Scene**__**:**_ Hagrid informing him of being a wizard, the deaths of his parents, the vanquishing of Voldemort and his subsequent fame was almost a relief. At least he now knew what the secrets were. He hated an unsolvable mystery.

As Harry ate the sausages the giant man who had introduced himself as Hagrid had given him his mind whirled collecting and processing things furiously. On one level he realized that the sausages were delicious but underneath that he was wondering how Hagrid fit in with the events of the last few days and in particular with the mysterious letters. Finally as Hagrid and his Aunt and Uncle weren't explaining, or for that matter speaking at all, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't know who you are."

The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts- yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o'course."

Inside his head Harry was starting to turn cartwheels but kept his face and manners curious, innocent and slightly befuddled. "Err – no I'm afraid I don't know anything about um, Hogwarts.

Hagrid looked shocked. Shock was good from Harrys' point of view. Shocked people tend to say more than they would otherwise. Outwardly his features changed from befuddled to apologetic.

"Sorry," Harry said quickly; and he really was. Hagrid wasn't to blame for Harrys' relatives keeping secrets and obviously was a little out of his depth.

"_Sorry?" _barked Hagrid, turning to star at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew you weren't getting your letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cry'in out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

Finally! Harry thought I'll know what the secret about my parents is. Aloud Harry asked "all what?" And watched Hagrids' face go as dark as a thundercloud and leap to his feet. The Dursleys started to cower against the wall.

"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!" Do you mean ter tell me that this boy… this boy… knows nothin' abou' …. About anything?

Harry decided to fan the flames and find out what kind of school Hagrid was talking about. He was pretty sure it wasn't like Stonewall High or Smelting's Prep. Normal schools don't use parchment after all. He screwed his face up into a moue of mild offense and began a mild protest aimed at provoking a little more information.

"I know some things," he said. "I can, you know do math and stuff."

That opened the floodgate and he learned about his parents world, and what should have been his world too so why wasn't he kept in it? Harrys mind spun as he lay under Hagrids big black coat. He'd always known his parents hadn't died in a car crash because Aunt Petunia was a truly inept liar, but he hadn't really expected that there had been foul play involved either. To hear the truth from Aunt Petunia, biased as the story probably was from her, was a shock. Teacups into rats, pockets full of frogspawn huh? What was certain was that he was a wizard despite her attempts to prevent it. Probably, Harry thought cynically, not so much because of it being unnatural but because she didn't have it and her parents praised my mum for having it. Aunt Petunia was like that, if she couldn't do it or have it nobody else should have whatever it was either; it was what made her such a vicious gossip.

Harry rolled over and thought about the deaths of his parents, and the vanquishing of Voldemort. He wondered what had happened that night. He'd had that dream about the green light for as long as he could remember and when Hagrid sent a spell it was violet so the light probably was a spell. He wondered why people said it was his doing that Voldemort was gone when it sounded like it had just been his parents and him at the house that night. Hagrid said he'd pulled him from the "ruined house," and Dumbledore was the only other one who was mentioned. He hoped an opportunity would arise to ask about it.

Harrys most immediate thoughts however were about the idea of being famous. Famous people were expected to act certain ways and conform to certain standards. People seemed to take everything they did personally. Aunt Petunias Garden Club discussed the stories from the tabloids like everything written was gospel. They criticized then praised then started the whole cycle over all the while trashing the magazine they got the information from! People, in Harrys' opinion, were rarely rational about celebrities. Maybe, Harry thought, that's why the school sent the Groundskeeper instead of a professor. Maybe as a sort of bodyguard, a very nice bodyguard who had brought him the first birthday cake he could remember; one who seemed genuine and honestly concerned and kind. Still, learning that Hagrid hadn't finished school left a disquieting sort of hum in the back of his skull. It was a feeling that stayed with Harry as he drifted off to sleep under Hagrids' coat.

_**Scene:**_ When Harry had first entered the Wizarding World he'd been shocked at being mobbed by all of the patrons at the Leaky Cauldron because he'd assumed that Hagrid had been chosen as his guide at least in part to prevent such a thing. It was the only reason he could think of to send the gamekeeper instead of some sort of teacher. Not to say that he didn't like Hagrid but he doubted… that is to say… Oh bugger Harry thought to himself as he left the Leaky Cauldron. Hagrid was about as effective as a bodyguard as a butterfly would be. Maybe in the non-Magical world people were intimidated but here everyone obviously realized he was a marshmallow on the inside; and the magical world was where he was famous! He could only keep his head down and pray no one else recognized him.

_**Scene:**_ He quickly became disgusted at how the teachers at Hogwarts allowed him to be treated. Instead of insisting on some decorum and allowing him to be treated normally and have some privacy they participated in the gawking and whispers that followed him like some sort of noxious mist all through his first year; and then never really stopped. That's when he decided that since nobody else would protect him he would have to take steps himself. It began with some very careful after hours research. Every night after everyone else was asleep Harry wrote down as much as he could about all the people he met and spells demonstrated around him. He quite liked the spell to alter the cover of a book to look like some other book cover. Especially important to write down seemed to be people's attitude toward muggle-born' and what their ancestry was. Eavesdropping on the older students was also a wealth of information. From them Harry learned more of what people expected from him. He was supposed to be rather naive about the Wizarding world because he grew up with a muggle family; he should love quidditch and magical creatures and champion the lesser beings of the Wizarding world but not too hard because they were lesser for a reason of course. Some of their opinion seemed to stem from what they expected because he was "a light wizard just like Dumbledore," and the rest seemed to be what the perfect Wizarding boy should be like. Intelligence didn't seem to come into it at all in Gryffindor; it seemed that you should have "better" things to do then study all the time. Harry made sure he always turned in an assignment but he made sure they were mid-level in quality. When he became friends with Hermione he took the opportunity to visit the library more often and bump his grades up.

Speaking of friends Harry realized as soon as Ron told him how many older brothers he had that something was fishy. Five kids sent off to Hogwarts and not remembering the Platform number is highly unlikely. He also realized that if Ron knew anything about it he would have blurted it out already. Subtlety wasn't really in Ronald list of ability's just yet. He was great at strategy, knew a lot of the Wizarding trivia information, and was willing to stand up for those he considered his friends. On the downside he had a short fuse and an explosive temper paired with the inability to admit when he was wrong, especially to Hermione. Harry found himself liking him but cautious to confide anything. Harry didn't confide in Hermione for a different but similar reason. She tended to analyze people like they were text books and be offended when their reactions or actions weren't what she expected. In other words her people skills sucked. She did better analyzing situations. She was brilliant and a loyal friend with an amazing analytical mind who needed to be reminded occasionally that she was their friend and not their mother. Nobody is perfect, right?

One of the most enlightening things to Harry was something he overheard while researching the Philosophers Stone right before Christmas. He'd just been sent out of the Library for lingering by the restricted section when a few of the older Ravenclaw students had excited talking in shrill tones.

"…how come someone like her is getting so many offers? Her works always crap in class! She's not even a pureblood her dads' a muggle poll ice man or something! Is it some kind of potion or something?"

"It's totally unfair but they don't go by the grades the professors give, they just use the end of year, OWL, and NEWT results on your records, it's been like that for absolute decades. The only thing professors are good for are references and most of the teachers like her and she's really good at taking tests. The only other kind of things that can get put on record are ICW test results and those are….

A school that didn't factor in class-grades was super weird. But the last straw was when he overheard some older students talking about how muggle-born need near perfect grades and a patron to do much of anything in the magical world. Hermione needed the academic top-spot in Gryffindor to have a future and he had more options. Harry was certain that Hermione didn't know about the patron thing and her study mania seemed to be natural for her and since it wasn't widely known Harry decided not to bring it up till later in their school career.

A Forbidden Corridor of doom sounded like some kind of ploy to Harry but since it let him have more time in the library and he did love a mystery he went with it. When he realized who was after it he looked up anti-possession charms and wards and charmed a flat rock with as much of it as he could manage and stuck it in his shoe. Vernon's socks had finally come in handy.


End file.
